Not currently on display at the V&A

Medal (the Statue of Liberty)

Medal
late 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This medal celebrates the union of France and the United States of America in the late 19th century.

Oscar Roty was the leading French medallist at this time. He studied painting under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran and sculpture under Augustin-Alexandre Dumont. In 1875 he won the Prix de Rome for engraving and, supported by his more conservative mentor, Jules-Clément Chaplain, was elected to the Institut de France in 1888. In 1889 he won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle and was appointed an officer of the Légion d’honneur. In 1907 he was awarded the Salon medal of honour for sculpture, an unprecedented award for a medallist.

Roty’s great career reflected his role in what Roger Marx called ‘the Renaissance of the medal in France’. This was evident at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, where struck medals by Roty and other medallists sold in tens of thousands.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMedal (the Statue of Liberty) (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast silver
Brief description
Medal, cast silver, depicting the Franco-American Union, by O. Roty, France, end of 19th century
Physical description
Medal depicts: Obv.: VNION.FRANCO.AMERICAINE STATVE.COLOSSALE.DE.LA.LIBERTÉ.ECLAIRANT.LE.MONDE 28 OCTOBRE M.D.CCCLXXXVI. France and America seated in a boat rowed by the genius of Liberty gazing at the colossal figure of Liberty enlightening the world, by Bartholdi, in New York Harbour. Signed on the seat of the boat O. ROTY.
Rev.: SOUVENIR.DE.L'INDEPENDANCE.AMERICAINE MONVMENT ERIGÉ.PAR.LA.FRANCE.ET.L'AMERIQUE.EN.SOUVENIR.DE.LEUR.ANCIENNE.AMITIÉ 1776.1876 HAVTEVR.DE.LA.STATVE.46''' 8. HAVTEVR.DV PIÉDESTAL.35'''. A medallion with the head of Bartholdi with a spray of laurel and two shields bearing the arms of France and America.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.83cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • VNION.FRANCO.AMERICAINE STATVE.COLOSSALE.DE.LA.LIBERTÉ.ECLAIRANT.LE.MONDE 28 OCTOBRE M.D.CCCLXXXVI (on the Obv)
  • SOUVENIR.DE.L'INDEPENDANCE.AMERICAINE MONVMENT ERIGÉ.PAR.LA.FRANCE.ET.L'AMERIQUE.EN.SOUVENIR.DE.LEUR.ANCIENNE.AMITIÉ 1776.1876 HAVTEVR.DE.LA.STATVE.46''' 8. HAVTEVR.DV PIÉDESTAL.35''' (on the Rev.)
  • O. ROTY. (on the obverse, signed on the seat of the boat)
Object history
Bought, £2 9s.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This medal celebrates the union of France and the United States of America in the late 19th century.

Oscar Roty was the leading French medallist at this time. He studied painting under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran and sculpture under Augustin-Alexandre Dumont. In 1875 he won the Prix de Rome for engraving and, supported by his more conservative mentor, Jules-Clément Chaplain, was elected to the Institut de France in 1888. In 1889 he won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle and was appointed an officer of the Légion d’honneur. In 1907 he was awarded the Salon medal of honour for sculpture, an unprecedented award for a medallist.

Roty’s great career reflected his role in what Roger Marx called ‘the Renaissance of the medal in France’. This was evident at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, where struck medals by Roty and other medallists sold in tens of thousands.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Years 1903 - 1904. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, During the Year 1903, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition with Appendix and Indices. London: Printed for her Majesties Stationary Office, by Wyman and Sons, Limited, 1907, pp. 62-63
  • Forrer, E.B.S. Oscar Roty and the Art of the Medallist, The Studio, vii (1896), pp. 158–62
  • Marx, R. Les Médailleurs français depuis 1789. Paris, 1897
  • Bénédite, L.: O. Roty. A. & Déc., xxix (1911), pp. 133–6
  • La Médaille en France de Ponscarme à la fin de la Belle Epoque. Exh. cat., ed. Y. Goldberg; Paris, Hôtel de la Monnaie, 1967)
  • Jones, Mark. The Art of the Medal. London, 1979
Collection
Accession number
363-1903

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 13, 2008
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest